officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfi-shē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

intransitive verb

1

: to perform a ceremony, function, or duty

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act in an official capacity : act as an official (as at a sports contest)

transitive verb

1

: to carry out (an official duty or function)

2

: to serve as a leader or celebrant of (a ceremony)

3

: to administer the rules of (a game or sport) especially as a referee or umpire

officiation

ə-ˌfi-shē-ˈā-shən 

noun

Examples of officiate in a Sentence

The bishop officiated the memorial Mass.

Two referees officiated the hockey game.

Recent Examples on the Web

On Monday, Nicola took to Instagram to share photos from the ceremony, which was officiated by Nelson and attended by many other members of the Peltz family, including Claudia, though David and Victoria were absent. —Ashley Hume, FOXNews.com, 13 Aug. 2025

The whirlwind ceremony, which was officiated by a former White Sox star, wrapped up in just 60 seconds. —Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 11 Aug. 2025

In 2009, Nagra married photographer James Stenson at a ceremony officiated by her ER costar Maura Tierney. —EW.com, 3 Aug. 2025

The consistency of officiating has been a topic players and coaches have been discussing a lot this season, and Engelbert said the league is aware and will evaluate it. —Doug Feinberg, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin officiātus, past participle of officiāre "to perform a function, perform priestly duties," going back to Late Latin officiārī "to perform a function," derivative of Latin officium "duty, office"

First Known Use

1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Rhymes for officiate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

officiate

verb

of·​fi·​ci·​ate ə-ˈfish-ē-ˌāt 

officiated; officiating

1

: to perform a ceremony

officiate at a wedding

2

: to act as an officer

officiated at the annual meeting

3

: to enforce the rules of (a game or sport)

officiate a soccer match